Bankai
by SpatulaCastle
Summary: All hope seems lost as Ichigo faces off against Aizen, but will an ally save the day in the most unlikely way? Note the genre.


Obligatory Author's Note: I have no excuse. Carry on.

Disclaimer: Did you know that these things won't do you an ounce of good? I can still be easily sued, disclaimer or not, by Tite Kubo (Bleach) so instead I will use this time to ask him out of the kindness of his heart to not sue me.

**Best Bankai Ever**

Ichigo's grip on Tensa Zangetsu tightened, his breath coming in short, ragged puffs that barely supplied enough oxygen to his aching muscles. Dried blood had long crusted over his right eye, shooting his depth perception to Hell, not to mention the various other injuries leaving dark patches of blood on his black shihakusho. While his battle with Aizen wasn't an entire loss – if the blood dripping from the thin black blade of his zanpakuto said anything – the former Gotei captain hadn't even broken a sweat. Then again, considering his zanpakuto's abilities, maybe Aizen had managed to disguise how exhausted he was…or maybe he wasn't even in the room at all.

Pushing the distracting thoughts aside, Ichigo crouched back into a fighting stance; an action that seemed to amuse the Shinigami he'd been exchanging blows with for the past hour or so. Disdainfully flicking his sword to scatter flecks of the blood that had accumulated on his zanpakuto, Aizen took on a more relaxed posture and smirked derisively. The entire battle – the entire invasion of Los Noches was nothing more than a game to him and the lives involved were little more than toys for him to play with. Ichigo's eyes narrowed with renewed anger as his irises took on a bluish hue.

"Don't kid yourself, Kurosaki," Aizen snorted. "It's over."

Ichigo lifted his sword, prepared to prove just how right Aizen Sousuke was when a familiar energy suddenly washed over him. He froze completely, his eyes widening in disbelief even as relief flooded his senses. It couldn't possibly be…but a glance over his shoulder confirmed his suspicions. There, standing in the doorway as if she hadn't been recently skewered by a trident, was the dark haired Shinigami that had been dying not even an hour ago. Slowly, he lowered Tensa Zangetsu to his side as a small smile threatened to tug at his lips.

"Rukia!" He called happily, temporarily forgetting that Aizen even existed.

The Kuchiki smirked, almost haughtily, as though the idea that death could even touch her was laughable – and, indeed, the only sign that she had been in a battle was the large red splotch on the front of her shihakusho and the scabbed over cut on her cheek. She strode further into the room, the released form of Sode no Shirayuki already within her grip, with the air of a noblewoman that was about to put a lowly worm in its place. Sousuke – the lowly worm – was completely untroubled by Rukia's appearance, seeing nothing more than another toy to make his game more interesting.

"You're right, Aizen Sousuke." Shirayuki was lifted into the air, the tip of the blade pointing skyward while the ivory ribbon fluttered gracefully about Rukia's small form. "It _is_ over." And with one simple word, a frigid wave of reiatsu shot out from the petite Shinigami and enveloped her in a bright light. "Bankai!"

An incredible wind whipped through the room, shaking the very foundation of Los Noches, which nearly brought Ichigo to his knees. The floor beneath them began to crack, clouds of dust and sand spreading through the room and greatly reducing the visibility of both Shinigami. When the bright light finally faded and the wind had dissipated, the dust clogging the air began to settle back to the ground. Ichigo stared expectantly at Rukia, curious to see what powers her bankai would grant her.

"When did you…" Ichigo promptly choked on his question.

Rukia stood, slightly hunched over, gripping a Gatling Gun that was easily longer than she was tall…and it was pointed right at the former Shinigami Captain. "You might want to plug your ears," she suggested, smirking sadistically.

"Eep…" He muttered only moments before she opened fire upon the unfortunate man, tearing him completely to pieces in a matter of seconds (though she shot off a _few_ more rounds, just to be sure) while Ichigo stared agape at the scene before him. When Rukia finally stopped her brutal assault, she carefully lowered the heavy weapon to the ground and wiped away the sweat that had accumulated on her forehead.

"What the…when…how…" Ichigo stuttered intelligently, pointing his finger accusingly at the raven haired girl. "What the _HELL_ kinda' Bankai is _that_!?" He managed to ask, while he silently wondered why _his_ zanpakuto couldn't do that.

Rukia regarded him seriously, bringing her hand up to flash a victory sign. "Best. Bankai. Ever."

A/N: What does a gatling gun have to do with Rukia's shikai? Absolutely nothing. But, I got this idea in my head…and yeah. The main reason why it's so short is because this was originally an idea I had for a little Bleach comic that I was going to post up on deviantART. I still plan on doing that, but it was such a crazy idea, I had to share it with somebody.


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